Amazon Eyes Bessemer for a Fulfillment Center

 ========= Old Image Removed =========Array
(
    [_wp_attached_file] => Array
        (
            [0] => 2017/10/Amazon_Logo.jpg
        )

    [_wp_attachment_metadata] => Array
        (
            [0] => a:5:{s:5:"width";i:2310;s:6:"height";i:1300;s:4:"file";s:23:"2017/10/Amazon_Logo.jpg";s:5:"sizes";a:14:{s:6:"medium";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-336x189.jpg";s:5:"width";i:336;s:6:"height";i:189;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:5:"large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-771x434.jpg";s:5:"width";i:771;s:6:"height";i:434;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-140x140.jpg";s:5:"width";i:140;s:6:"height";i:140;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:12:"medium_large";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-768x432.jpg";s:5:"width";i:768;s:6:"height";i:432;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"1536x1536";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:24:"Amazon_Logo-1536x864.jpg";s:5:"width";i:1536;s:6:"height";i:864;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"2048x2048";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:25:"Amazon_Logo-2048x1153.jpg";s:5:"width";i:2048;s:6:"height";i:1153;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:9:"wbhm-icon";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:21:"Amazon_Logo-80x80.jpg";s:5:"width";i:80;s:6:"height";i:80;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:13:"wbhm-featured";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-600x338.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:338;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:20:"wbhm-featured-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:18:"wbhm-featured-home";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-553x311.jpg";s:5:"width";i:553;s:6:"height";i:311;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:22:"wbhm-featured-carousel";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-470x265.jpg";s:5:"width";i:470;s:6:"height";i:265;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:28:"ab-block-post-grid-landscape";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-600x400.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:400;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:25:"ab-block-post-grid-square";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-600x600.jpg";s:5:"width";i:600;s:6:"height";i:600;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}s:14:"post-thumbnail";a:4:{s:4:"file";s:23:"Amazon_Logo-125x125.jpg";s:5:"width";i:125;s:6:"height";i:125;s:9:"mime-type";s:10:"image/jpeg";}}s:10:"image_meta";a:12:{s:8:"aperture";s:1:"0";s:6:"credit";s:0:"";s:6:"camera";s:0:"";s:7:"caption";s:0:"";s:17:"created_timestamp";s:10:"1507895284";s:9:"copyright";s:0:"";s:12:"focal_length";s:1:"0";s:3:"iso";s:1:"0";s:13:"shutter_speed";s:1:"0";s:5:"title";s:0:"";s:11:"orientation";s:1:"0";s:8:"keywords";a:0:{}}}
        )

    [_media_credit] => Array
        (
            [0] => Andrew Yeager
        )

    [_navis_media_credit_org] => Array
        (
            [0] => WBHM
        )

    [_navis_media_can_distribute] => Array
        (
            [0] => 
        )

)
1665266408 
1526565757

Amazon could be coming to Bessemer. This isn’t the coveted second headquarters that more than 200 cities competed to lure. It’s a fulfillment center, and if it happens, it would mean quite a few jobs, according to The Birmingham Business Journal, which broke the story.

“At this point we know this site’s being strongly considered for it,” says Birmingham Business Journal editor Ty West. “We know it’s not a done deal.”

West says the site under consideration is property owned by U.S. Steel along I-20/59 near Bessemer City High School and Alabama Splash Adventure. The fulfillment center would employ 1,500 people but that number would likely grow based on trends at similar facilities.

Amazon has expanded its network of fulfillment centers, where packages are sorted and distributed. Last year, the BBJ found Birmingham was the largest market in the U.S. without an existing center or one in the works. The potential Bessemer center would include opportunities for job training for high school students. Amazon would also run buses through Bessemer neighborhoods to pick up employees without reliable transportation.

“It would give a lot of people in Bessemer who have no access to an automobile an opportunity to work at a leading global company,” says West.

West says incentive packages from the state, Jefferson County and Bessemer are still being developed, but he expects them to come before public boards in the coming weeks. He says public documents indicate construction could start as early as this summer with a goal of opening the fulfillment center by the 2019 holiday season.

 

What are your holiday shopping plans? NPR wants to hear from you

Is this the season of cutbacks or splurges? As we prepare to cover holiday shopping and deals, NPR wants to hear from you, whatever your plans may be.

What does Montreal sound like?

World Cafe is kicking off its latest Sense of Place series with a playlist that offers a glimpse of Montreal's lively music scene.

Dozens of Bob Ross paintings will be auctioned to help public TV after funding cuts

Thirty of Ross' trademark landscapes will be sold at a series of auctions starting in November. He painted many of them live on The Joy of Painting, which started airing on PBS in the 1980s.

Why gold is having its best year since 1979

The price of gold hit $4,000 per ounce for the first time ever. It's a bad sign for the U.S. economy

1 in 5 high schoolers has had a romantic AI relationship, or knows someone who has

A national survey of students, teachers and parents shines a light on how the AI revolution is playing out in schools – including when it comes to bullying and a community's trust in schools.

RFK Jr.’s new dietary guidelines could be controversial. Here’s what to watch for

The Health Secretary's affinity for saturated fat and his ire over ultra-processed foods could influence federal food guidelines, expected out this fall.

More Economy Coverage